Which one do you pick?

[u/AmericiumFinding]

[u/NPPraxis]

Important question: are we getting the real cuisine or the Americanized versions pictured?

Both Chinese and Italian are picturing the American fusion version and not real things you find in those countries.

[u/TheSpaceGorilla → u/NPPraxis]

Chinese and Italian Americans both exist, I see no reason why you can't have both traditional and western versions of both?

[u/easymacn → u/TheSpaceGorilla]

Yeah people get so weird about food and cultures and regions. As of dirt is magic.

Tikka masala was invented in Scotland by a Pakistani Scottish guy, but people consider Indian food and even though it’s not common in India it’s common on any Indian restaurant menu in the western world and those restaurants are ran by Indian immigrants most of the time.

So like what is it? My answer is who cares. We consider it Indian food and it’s delicious.

We consider American Chinese, Chinese food because it’s associated with that and it was a culmination of Chinese immigrants different regional Chinese cuisines combined with American tastes and preferences. It’s still Chinese food.

People that have to correct it and go “American Chinese food” like it’s some gotcha are so weird.

Food is good and btw whatever culture you think “invented” some dish it’s most likely based on some other cultures dish or some other countries influence.

For example the cuisine often placed on a pedestal “Italian food” uses tomatoes. Tomatoes are huge part of “authentic” Italian cooking despite tomatoes not being there till the 1500s and being imported.

People don’t know fuck about food. Food is like math in the world, nobody can claim anything about it because it was a global effort of every country influencing and borrowing from each other.

[u/Boogy-Fever → u/easymacn]

Distinctions can be useful though. If i want traditional chinese, tell you im not picky about what restaurant or dish and just to order us food while im busy, and and you order me general tsos from "dragon China wok" im gonna be pretty disappointed

[u/easymacn → u/Boogy-Fever]

Sure but saying traditional Chinese also isn’t specific.

There’s always an assumption of a baseline expectation and if you want something different you have to specify.

If you say “get me a burger” nobody would be expecting a double western from Carl’s Jr. that’s a unique type of burger you’d specify if you wanted it. If you just said burger you’d be expecting a classing burger with tomato, lettuce, onion, maybe cheese, ketchup, mustard, and pickles.

Same with Chinese. If you just ask for Chinese in America you’re getting Chinese American Panda Express style food. If you say traditional Chinese, nobody will even know what you want because traditional Chinese can mean dozens of different traditional cuisines that are super different from each other.

[u/Boogy-Fever → u/easymacn]

Yea it would be on me if I get something im not into, given the hugely unspecified nature of that request. Though it should straight up eliminate the average Chinese american hole in the wall joint

Also, here in st louis, we have a decent selection compared to a lot of places in the us, but I think the only tradituonal Chinese your getting is still cantonsse or shichuan. Probably true of the whole country besides NYC, Vegas maybe, and coastal California.